UK readiness for AVs depends on gender, age and location, says Fujitsu

First publishedon www.ITSInternational.com

The UK’s readiness to use a ride from a driverless car depends on gender, age and where you live, says a new report from Fujitsu.

In a study of 2,000 members of the British public and 600 senior business decision makers, Fujitsu has discovered that transport is second only to education as the sector people are most keen to see transformed by technology.

Despite this, there remains some ‘discomfort’ surrounding autonomous vehicles (AV). Less than a third of respondents would be happy to be picked up by a driverless car and only 17% would trust autonomous technology with their child’s safety.

The Tech in a Transforming Britain report shows that men are twice as likely to be happy about allowing a driverless car to carry out the school run, compared to women (12%).

Nearly a third of Londoners say they would be happy to allow an AV to take their children to school, which is above the 18% average across the country.

Just under 40% of 16-24-year olds are most open to being picked up by a driverless car, while those aged over 55 are less favourable to the technology (19.9%).

The report emphasises that the UK public needs more guidance and reassurance to accept technologies which they are not used to such as driverless cars.

Chris Patton, head of transport industry marketing at Fujitsu’s EMEIA transport team, says the public may not be ready for ‘full-throttled’ driverless cars, but they are likely to be more receptive to Mobility as a Service.

“Using digital platforms to match supply directly to demand à la Uber, this model has the potential to save consumers money, massively reduce congestion, and create a more sustainable transport system,” he adds.

Patton insists that both business and government should educate the public on the benefits of this approach and work together to put the infrastructure in place.